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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30101901">learn to share</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clokcwork_dragon/pseuds/clokcwork_dragon'>clokcwork_dragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Denial of Feelings, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, but they dont know it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:08:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30101901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clokcwork_dragon/pseuds/clokcwork_dragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Fury sends agents Phil Coulson and Melinda May in a mission where they have to pose as a couple. Unfortunately, that also means they're not getting separate beds. </p><p>[written for AoS March Madness on tumblr, hosted by @agentsofchallenges]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Phil Coulson/Melinda May</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>learn to share</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Only One Bed</p><p>This is the first semi-coherent thing I've written in a while. Exam prep is killing me.</p><p>Also yes their mission is set in Thessaloniki, Greece, because my Greek soul is projecting (but also Athens is overrated so I wrote in a less popular city].</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Of course</em>, May thought as she and Coulson settled into their hotel room of the night. Of course Fury would do that. Of course he would book them a single-bed suite when he knew they were posing as a couple.</p><p>Part of her wondered if Romanov’s incessant teasing about her and Coulson had finally reached the Director’s ear, and he thought of this as a very subtle nod of agreement with Romanov. The rest of her just felt embarrassed. She made a mental note to give Fury a piece of her mind about this, once they made it back.</p><p>“So,” Coulson cleared his throat as he took in their room “I guess there’s no way around it.”</p><p>“We’ve been through worse.” May shrugged, dropping her suitcase down to the floor and beginning to check the room for surveillance equipment, if only so she could busy her hands with something. Coulson nodded.</p><p>“Too true. Gonna check the bathroom, be right back.” He said, to which May just nodded.</p><p>She’d posed as a couple for a mission before. This was in no way the first time and it likely wouldn’t be the last. She knew it would make sense for a supposed couple to share a bed, so why did the thought make her of all people feel queasy?</p><p><em>‘Probably because you weren’t actually attracted to any of the other agents you played house with’</em>, said a voice in the back of her mind, and May didn’t know if it was hers or Romanov’s, but it had a point. She hated to admit it, but the last few months she’d started looking at Coulson in a different way.</p><p>She wondered if anything had changed in the way Coulson looked at her. Probably not. Coulson may be flighty sometimes, and wear his heart on his sleeve, but not even he would be so irresponsible so as to let himself fall for a fellow agent. Then again, what if he did? Romanov and Barton managed to balance their work and their relationship just fine. Would it be so out of touch with reality to think about Coulson and herself in a similar situation?</p><p>Part of her was glad Coulson wasn’t in the room with her, because she felt her cheeks warming up.</p><p>
  <em>‘Focus, Melinda, this isn’t time for daydreaming. You’re a specialist, dammit.’</em>
</p><p>“Bathroom’s clear. In that I didn’t find any hidden cams or mics.” Coulson walked back into the room, and she turned to face him. She’d finished her own search too, and she nodded in affirmation.</p><p>“Good. You think we should check for hidden passages too?”</p><p>“Eh, the hotel’s a little old for that kind of it, don’t you think?” He saw her frown, and he raised an eyebrow. “You know this isn’t ideal for me either, but we can’t spend the whole night running in circles just to avoid-“</p><p>“Yes, yes- that’s not why I- ugh, let’s just stop talking.”</p><p>“Not a bad idea.” Coulson admitted and leaned against the wall. “Wanna order drinks? I think room service isn’t too big of a risk. We deserve it after that terrible flight, anyway.”</p><p>“Mhm, get me some whiskey. I’m going to do some recon on the lobby, see if any of our targets are messing around here.”</p><p>May slipped out of the room before Coulson had time to ask her to stay, slammed the door behind her and headed downstairs as fast as she could.</p><p>-</p><p>There was only so much she could do to avoid Coulson, though, and so after she triple-checked for enemies or suspicious individuals, she went back upstairs. Their drinks had already arrived, and she perched on the windowsill overlooking the city of Thessaloniki while she sipped hers.</p><p>She’d noticed Coulson glancing at her not-so-subtly now and again. In the end, she huffed and looked at him.</p><p>“If you’ve got something to say, out with it.”</p><p>Coulson shrugged. “I was just thinking maybe sitting on the window isn’t such a good idea. You make an easy target for a sniper.”</p><p>May rolled her eyes. “The hotel is the tallest building in miles, and we’re at the outskirts of the city. The chances of a sniper watching us are minimal to none.”</p><p>“Always so ahead of me.” Teased Coulson, coming to stand next to her. “It’s beautiful at night, isn’t it? The city.”</p><p>May conceded with a nod. “I suppose it’s got a certain charm, yes.”</p><p>She finished the rest of her whiskey and stood up, placing the empty glass on the windowsill. Then she turned to look at the bed. Both she and Coulson let out a small sigh.</p><p>This was going to be a long night.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>[ Half an hour later ]</em>
</p><p>After a bit of fussing and a lot of tossing and turning, May and Coulson had managed to get comfortable on their respective sides of the bed. Which wasn’t much, honestly, considering it wasn’t that big to begin with, and the buffer zone of pillows between them diminished the free space even further.</p><p>“Is this necessary?” Coulson’s face peeked over the pillows. “I mean, I’ve been told I’m a very comfortable pillow.”</p><p>May huffed. “It’s not that. I’m a fitful sleeper, so this is mostly for your own protection.”</p><p>“You sleep like a lamb.” Coulson remarked. “This might be our first mission in the same bed, but it’s not our first in the same room. Hell, we were bunkmates for two years at the Academy.”</p><p>“Fine, fine!” May sat up, picked up the extra pillows and threw them on the floor. “Happy? Can we go to sleep now? Jet lag’s killing me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Won’t argue with that.” He smiled a little. “Goodnight, Melinda.”</p><p> </p><p>“Goodnight… Phil.”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>[ the following morning ]</em>
</p><p>The alarm clock went off in someone’s phone (probably Coulson’s, because who else would set a jazz track as their alarm ringtone), but May decided she wasn’t going the one to get up and turn it off. She was half-awake already, but she was very comfortable, curled up snugly against a pillow and…</p><p> </p><p>…A <em>warm</em> pillow. A warm pillow that <em>breathed</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, hell.</p><p> </p><p>May opened her eyes slowly, as if willing herself to teleport to the side of the bed she’d fallen asleep in. And yet teleportation had (probably) not been invented yet. Her eyes cleared, and in the spring half-light slipping through the curtains she made out Coulson’s calm, sleeping face, inches from her own.</p><p> </p><p>A few thoughts passed through her mind, then. The first of them was ‘<em>he looks so peaceful. Kinda cute’</em>. The second was ‘<em>would be really convenient if the ground opened up and swallowed me right now’</em>. The third, she spoke out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“Coulson. Hey, Coulson!”</p><p> </p><p>Coulson’s eyes opened a fraction, and he smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“So much for sleeping on our own sides.” He teased her, and she growled.</p><p> </p><p>“You came over to my side.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m pretty sure your side was by the wall.”</p><p> </p><p>May disengaged from her very comfortable position and turned around, burying her face under the sheets.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just not mention this to anyone. Please.” She muttered, though she couldn’t keep her voice from breaking into a chuckle in the end. She heard Coulson echo her laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Not even Romanov?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, <em>especially</em> not her! I’ll never hear the end of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine… I’ll spare you that ordeal.”</p><p> </p><p>They lay in silence for a few more minutes, trying to work out how to stir the situation from there. In the end, May cleared her throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Phil?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm?”</p><p> </p><p>“I guess you do kind of make a comfortable pillow, after all.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tumblr: @flaythleann<br/>twitter: @rubybranwenn</p></blockquote></div></div>
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